Califormia Governor Brown is expected to sign the first ever ‘improvement’ law to be enacted in the US to correct the critical shortcomings of EPR for carpets passed several years ago. Environmental groups, local government, waste haulers, unions and the carpet industry itself have urged Brown to sign the bill, AB 1158. The bill is an important … Read More
Our allies at the Container Recycling Institute have issued a response to Pepsi-Cola’s recently announced support for bottle bills/container deposits and the status of California’s bottle bill recycling system. The nonprofit Container Recycling Institute is a leading authority on the economic and environmental impacts of used beverage containers and other consumer product packaging. Its mission is to make North … Read More
A business report from the German group Deutsche Welle paints a very confusing picture for those looking at Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for paper, packaging and products, or PPP, in US. Does EPR in Germany, the leader in EPR policy for the past three decades, work? The original report from Deutsche Welle is available here. According … Read More
Our partners at The Reuse People have been busy with the growth of the reuse movement. Here’s a recent update from their president, Ted Rieff: The Repair Movement Boosts Reuse by Ted Rieff There’s a worldwide “repair movement” underway. That’s a fact I didn’t know until very recently, when a reader sent me several news articles … Read More
This article caught our eye about the practice of burning trash in Great Britain from the Duetsche Welle. Highlights from the article include: The Eunomia report concludes that if all of the planned incinerators were built, the UK will only reach a 57 percent recycling rate by 2030. That is far below the 70 percent target … Read More
On August 8, 3027, The Portland Metro Council rejected a proposal from a Covanta incinerator to receive one-fifth of the tri-county region’s garbage at its Brooks, OR facility. No less than 15 organizations including the Portland Branch of the NAACP, Oregon Physicians for Social responsibility and Neighbors for Clean Air.… Read More
The history of solid waste and recycling in the District of Columbia is long and diverse. In the early years of the 20th Century low-income girls and women were hired to pick through garbage on sorting tables to recover materials. In the more recent past, recycling of newspapers and metals was a key fundraising tool for … Read More
Baltimore Sun Agrees: Baltimore Deserves Better Than the BRESCO Incinerator. Last year, the garbage incinerator located in downtown Baltimore burned 700,000 tons of municipal solid waste from the city and surrounding jurisdictions; 161,000 came from residents and businesses in Baltimore. 1,100 tons of nitrous oxides were released from BRESCO. Even more alarming, these nitrous oxides react … Read More
Renewed Effort To Stop Burning Detroit’s Garbage Based On Pollution Levels And Environmental Justice. “Mayor Mike Duggan has taken recent actions, both quiet and public, that could signify a commitment to the health and well-being of Detroiters. Recently Duggan signed onto the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ Climate Protection Agreement, committing the city to reducing carbon emissions … Read More
